Burning the Jolly Roger

Pirates in Burning Wheel Gold

Lesser Daemon

A subcategory of Daemons, Lesser Daemons are not “lesser” because they are weaker in power or less dangerous than other Daemons. Instead, the categorization is based on what kind of payment the Daemon requests for its services when summoned. Lesser Daemons only require temporary possession of their summoner as payment; this is considered the least valuable type of payment, and thus lesser than other forms. However, some Daemons have been known to take the long term view of payments, reasoning that they have a high level of influence while possessing a mage and that by selling their services “cheaply”, they will be summoned more frequently. Indeed, one particular Greater Daemon earned its status by selling its services as a Lesser Daemon for centuries to a particular cabal of mages, and in the process slowly altering their beliefs and goals until it was able to co-opt the group entirely and use them to destroy several rival Daemons.

Indeed, many consider Lesser Daemons to be one of the most dangerous sorts to summon, precisely because it is so easy to do so and because Daemonic possession tends to corrupt a person’s thoughts. Daemons have their own plans and goals, which are rarely beneficial to mortals. Any Daemon willing to sell itself so cheaply must, then, have a reason to do so.